Fridge for medical reasons

olena

<font color=green>Emerald Angel<br><font color=mag
Joined
May 12, 2001
Messages
22,566
We have to travel with clotting factor from now on. It needs to be kept cold.....but not too cold. I'd be afraid to keep it in a cooler or ice bucket, since you can't really regulate the temps very well. When we had to take it to WDW 4 years ago, they gave us a fridge at no cost. Does that still happen? I'm guessing it doesn't.

I have read that they will provide a sharps container, if you need one.
 
You can still get a fridge for medical reasons at no cost. I think it would be best to have it added to your ressies before your go. We requested one for my DD's meds on our October trip and when we received our ressie confirmation, it stated on there that we were to have one and the fee was waived.


Melinda
 
We have one scheduled for our trip and they also said no charge :0)
 
That's good news! Thanks....:D
 
You should contact Disney before going for info about park fridges. The nurses stations have refrigerators and can handle most medical requirements like storing medical supplies and providing a quiet place to do the private things that you don't want to do in the bathroom like test blood levels, catherters and feeding tubes.:smooth:
 
Originally posted by clarissadreamfinder
You should contact Disney before going for info about park fridges. The nurses stations have refrigerators and can handle most medical requirements like storing medical supplies and providing a quiet place to do the private things that you don't want to do in the bathroom like test blood levels, catherters and feeding tubes.:smooth:
Good idea.
There is a First Aid station in each park that is staffed by medical personnel, including RNs. They do have refrigerators, an accessible restroom large enough for a companion to help. They also have individual cubicles with a cot, chair and table in each one. They can also provide a place to safely dispose of things, plus they have extra supplies of things like syringes in case people forgot or need a clean one.
The First Aid stations are marked on the park maps and are open the same hours as the park.
 
DH & I went last May. I forgot to request a fridge when making our reservations. When I got there, I realized I had nowhere to put my insulin. We called the front desk, explained the situation, not even thinking about the cost. They had a fridge in the room really quick. When we were checking out, we were pleasantly surprised. The fee was waived without us even mentioning it. It was a nice bit of Disney Magic to end our trip!

Lighte
 
Several times when I have received a refrigerator in the room the person who brought it, with the best of intentions, set it to Maximum Cold. Luckily I noticed bottled water starting to freeze before my insulin was affected.

As you stated, these medications should not be frozen. Accordingly, before you use it check the setting on the thermostat that it is about in the middle. It will take the same length of time to get properly cold, but will not freeze anything.
 
That is a great piece of advise! I am a diabetic and have requested a fridge for our Oct. stay. I don't think I would have thought to check the setting beforte I put my insulin in.

Thanks for posting that!!!!

:D :D :D
 
Only insulin that requires long term storage should be refrigerated. The insulin that you inject on a daily basis should be kept at room temperature. It is harmful to inject cold insulin into warm muscle tissue. Therefore, while at WDW you should not refrigerate your insulin.
 
Yes you are right that it only needs to be refridgerated for long term storage. However, being prepared is always best, so I extras with me along with my Rx. Just incase, you never know what might happen!! Being that far from home, why take a chance!
 
fyi most insulins are not prescription items in Florida
 
Most insulins are not prescription in Florida, but I know that Humalog is. (I take Humalog daily and it requires a prescription in all 50 states according to my pharmacist.)

Just an F.Y.I.
 
As per our endocrinologist and RN-CDE (certified diabetic educator), our Lantus insulin is to be kept refridgerated. Our Novalog/Humalog does not require refridgeration but when traveling it is advisable to travel with extra vials and these must be kept refridgerated.
I will continue to refridgerate my children's insulin until a licensed professional tells us otherwise. Disney recognizes the need for this and OFFERED to put the fridge in our room next October free of charge.
FYI, all of the different insulins my children are using require prescriptions to purchase.
 
gardendame, I can't remember if I posted here or somewhere else about where the idea that insulin needed to be refrigerated came from? A friend of ours is a pharmacist, and shortly after I started reading about refrigerating insulin here, I asked him about it. And he went through the formulary and a bunch of other pharmacist specific books(smile) and said that nothing he read said that insulin needs to be refrigerated according to the drug manufacturer.

So he went on a hunt to find out where the recommendation had come from. What appears to have happened is that years ago when insulin was brand new and VERY expensive, a pharmacist got a shipment in and set it on the radiator in the pharmacy (without thinking about it). By the time he remembered it, the insulin had been "baked" with the proteins all coagulated. This was extremely expensive for the pharmacist and so the word went out to "keep the insulin in the fridge!(smile) and that is pretty much what has happened.

Plus back in those days, air conditioning wasn't around and in use anywhere near the way it is now (I wonder how people stood things before there was air conditioning, as I am such a wimp that I know I wouldn't have made it(smile), so keeping insulin in the refrigerator made quite a bit of sense then since fridge temperature doesn't vary all that much.

I'm glad that WDW is letting people have the fridge's at no charge for medical reasons, as if I remember correctly, it was turning into a big problem for them with the number of people requesting one and I think that is why they limited giving them out for at least a while.

I have two medications that have a very limited temperature range before one turns to blue foam and the other breaks down, and we bought one of those little plug in fridge units for the car and use that in the hotel rooms. I was lucky enough to find one on clearance at Kohl's and it only cost me around $15.00. I just didn't want to count on ending up at a hotel that didn't have any kinds of fridge's available, and this solves that particular problem.
 
I'm afraid this could quite possibly turn into an extensive debate., so please read this with a gentle voice. Lantus is one of the newest insulins and the 'good ole days of no refrigeration' theory would not apply here. Also, it comes from the pharmacy with MUST BE REFRIGERATED stickers all over the box.
My children's health is fragile enough without tempting fate any further by going against doctor's orders. Again, as long as their ENDOCRINOLOGIST, RN-CDE, and MY PHARMACIST tell me to keep their liquid life support chilled, I will do so.::yes::
 
gardendame, it was not my intent to start a debate. I do NOT go online to fight with people. Ever.

And I am sure that since your children's medication must be refrigerated at ALL times, that you have a small plug in fridge for your car or van and for any other hotel that you might end up staying in that does not (as the majority do not) have refrigerators available, since I am sure you would NEVER want to risk your children's health. So, it wouldn't ever be a problem for you, as I am sure you are prepared, especially since this is so important.

I think it is wonderful for WDW to provide fridges free for medical reasons, but if they choose not to do that, then anyone who needs to refrigerate medications will have to pay (I'm sure you agree that you would do this as it is necessary for your children's health) for it or provide their own.

When we last stayed at the Swan we had a refrigerator in the room and it was only through purest luck that we didn't come back to find my medication ruined, as housekeeping unplugged it to plug in their vacuum cleaner and then forgot to plug the fridge back in. I would suggest bringing along some sort of tape (my spouse always travels with a roll of duct tape)(smile), and tape the plug in. The only reason I didn't loose almost $500.00 worth of medication is because we ended up coming back to the room early and found it before the temperature got too high.
 
:wave: Duct tape, huh? I'll have to remember that. Glad you caught it before everything ruined. This will be our first long family vacation, so I have not needed to travel and deal with the insulin yet. I'll have to look into getting the cooler that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I imagine it could come in handy for other things too, like baseball tournaments or school field trips. :wave2:
 
Let me start by saying, I don't want to start any debate either, but just want to give some information/background from the standpoint of a medical person and from things I heard about how the refrigerator use at WDW works.

If you go to the website of almost any insulin manufacturer or look in the medication package insert for the insulin, you will find it says insulin for long term storage has to be kept in the refrigerator, but the bottle in use may be kept at room temperature and used within 28 days. The package insert provided by the manufacturer is their recommendations for storage. For whatever reason, your doctor may recommend something else that you follow, but whatever is recommended by the maker of the medication for storage is safe. (I'm not saying not to do what the doctor recommends for storage, just that the manufacturer's instructions for safe storage may be different than what the doctor says. This will be important further down the page).
The pharmacy puts a "Keep Refrigerated" sticker on it because bottles being kept for long term storage do need refrigeration per the manufacturer.

Now, with that as background, many years ago, Disney used to provide refrigerators for medication. One of the usual medications was insulin and many diabetics at that time were taught to keep all their insulin refrigerated. Now many diabetics are taught that the insulin in use is fine to be kept at room temperature and only long term storage insulin needs refrigeration.
When word got out that Disney was providing refrigerators at no cost for medical reasons, many people who did not have a medical reason were saying they did and requesting one. At that point, Disney elected for a while not to provide refrigerators free of charge to anyone. That proved to be very unpopular, so they looked at other ways to decide who needed one.
One of the things looked at was which medications actually requirerefrigeration by their makers. Insulin in use isn't one of them (including Lantus, per the package insert) . So, WDW told people they no longer would provide refrigerators free of charge for insulin. I've read reports from that time period of people being told by the front desk CMs that insulin did not require refrigeration and if they wanted a fridge, they would either have to pay for it or store the insulin behind the front desk! Even some people who dealt with the Special Reservations people were told the same thing. Definately not a customer friendly attitude.
I don't personally believe anyone should be told by the resort how their medication may be stored. Since insulin is a critical medication, the user needs to be the one deciding how they are comfortable having it stored. Also, since most diabetics I know bring an extra bottle with them (which doesrequire refrigeration per the manufacturer), anyone with insulin who requests a refrigerator needs to be provided with one.
In the past year, I've read more reports of people who got their refrigerator for medication free of charge. So, it does seem to be getting better. If you have a problem with the check in CM, ask to speak to the manager. And check your statement when you check out.
The other hint I have is to check the temperature setting of the refrigerator when you get into the room. We stay at DVC, which has refrigerators in each room. We have frequently found the fridge setting is frequently not set right. When we put water in the fridge, it either stays sort of "just a bit colder than room temp" or it gets a sheet of ice on the top. So, don't assume the temperature is set right (and the duct tape hint is a good idea if you have a portable refrigerator brought into the room).
 
Gardendame. You need to realize that some of us are speaking from long experience as insulin users and know the practical ins and outs that the doctors cannot or wil not tell you. The medical field has set policies that sometimes bear little resemblance to reality. Both your child's insulin do require refrigeration and both require a prescription as they are the newest of the insulin products. I would however not inject cold insulin into your child. Allow it to warm up a bit first. Injections of cold insulin are frequently painful and allowing it to warm for a short time will not harm it.
You will notice that I usually stay most insulins don't need refrigeration for the vial in use and do not need prescriptions in Florida. Exceptions are Lantus and Humalog/Novolog.
I would say to consider advice given you by seasoned diabetics. We have lived with it for many years and have learned how to deal with it from a practical standpoint. This experience is shared by few doctors and diabetic educators. Now if you can find one who is both you have hit the jackpot!

A 25 year insulin user with Hb1Ac of 5.5 who also was a medical researcher until she decided to drop out and conccentrate on her kids.
 












Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE









DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top